This is what it is supposed to look like. But the dead fish were not here.
Dozens of dead fish were spotted floating on the surface in a New Orleans City Park lagoon on Tuesday, likely the result of a combination of heat, invasive plants and low water levels, officials said. The fish kill was located in the lagoon on the northwestern side of the park along Marconi Drive, between Filmore Avenue and Allen Toussaint Boulevard. City Park officials said they weren’t sure of the exact cause, but suspected that historically low water levels and invasive plant species were helping deplete oxygen. “City Park Conservancy is working closely with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and other consultants to determine the exact cause of the recent depletion on the north side of City Park,” it said. “We take our role as conservators of a thriving urban ecology very seriously, and we are working diligently with the consulting team to prevent future events like this.”
nola.com
Invasive plants are a problem everywhere.
City Park and Bayou St. John have been plagued by invasive plant species in recent years such as water hyacinths and giant salvinia. In June, Wildlife and Fisheries warned that fish kills may start happening in inland waterways across the state due to hot summer temperatures, storms and oxygen depletion. Low water, decaying vegetation and runoff can lead to low oxygen, or hypoxic, water. Because water holds less oxygen the warmer it is, it’s easier for a hypoxic fish kill to happen in the summer. Different sizes and species of fish have different needs, so not all fish are necessarily affected. It’s very rare for all aquatic organisms to be affected since they can swim to areas with more oxygen, so ecosystems are normally able to bounce back on their own. There are also efforts humans can take to help alleviate hypoxic conditions, according to the DWF, including pond aeration. Fish kills can happen any time of the year, so the DWF asks that residents who see one happening file a report on its fish kill webpage.
Not what you want to see but theis happens. We need to stop bringing in invasive plants!
